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Ilona Massey Collection

Billed as the new Marlene Dietrich, this Austrian beauty was best known to OTR fans for her role in Top Secret.

Ilona Massey

18 old time radio show recordings
(total playtime 9 hours, 26 min)
available in the following formats:

1 MP3 CD
or
10 Audio CDs


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Play a sample episode from December 12, 1937:

"Ilona Massey in Good News 1940"



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Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

Ilona Massey
(1910 – 1974)

Ilona Massey

Ilona MasseyIlona Massey was only a small girl when her native Austro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved, Ilona's father (a typesetter invalided in WWI) inculcated her with what would be a lifelong hatred of Communism and Communists. Growing up in extreme poverty, Ilona saw performing as her ticket to a better life. Working as a dressmaker's girl apprentice, she saved what money she could for singing lessons. Eventually the lessons, along with dance and acting classes, led to work in the Viennese entertainment industry.

Ilona was also developing into an incredible beauty. Her photo was submitted to the Vienna office of MGM, and she was one of two girls selected to take the adventurous trip to Hollywood for a screen test (her companion was Hedy Lamarr). In Good News of 1938, broadcast just before Christmas, 1937, Louis B. Meyer introduces Ilona as "our newest artist". This installment of Good News is a celebration of the film Rosalie, starring Nelson Eddy and Eleanor Powell. James Stewart is the master of ceremonies in this broadcast. Rosalie was Ilona's first American film, and she sings one of her numbers from the movie on the show. Interestingly, at the time of filming she had little command of English, and performed her lines and songs phonetically.

In 1939, Massey again shared the screen with Nelson Eddy, this time with a starring role in Balalaika. Nelson Eddy was using the film as an effort to separate his career from Jeanette MacDonald. The project was a personal favorite of Massey's. However, it may have hurt her popularity.

Eddy's feud with MacDonald was popular fodder for the tabloids and gossip columnists, and the public saw his appearance with Massey as somehow adulterous. That Eddy and MacDonald were more than close, perhaps even married, was a common, though incorrect, assumption. There are also reports that despite their onscreen chemistry, they intensely disliked each other. Nelson Eddy was married to the former Ann Denitz for 27 years, until his death.

Ilona MasseyIronically, the 1940 Nelson Eddy- Jeanette MacDonald reunion film, New Moon, was performed as a radio operetta for The Railroad Hour in 1949, starring Ilona Massey.

Also in our collection, we have Ilona reprising her role in New Wine, the 1941 film biography of composer Franz Schubert, for The Screen Guild Theater.

The two films that Massey is most closely identified with are 1943's Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man as Baroness Elsa Frankenstein, and as Madame Egeliche in Love Happy, the last film to feature all the Marx Brothers (and considered by Groucho to be the worst film they made). Massey's role in Love Happy would inspire Terry and the Pirates creator Milt Canliff to draw a new femme fatale spy, Madame Lynx, for his strip, Steve Canyon.

Ilona Massey is probably best known to OTR fans for her role in Top Secret. As the Baroness Karen Gazer, Massey manages to intrigue audiences in this exciting spy drama. Although based around events from the WWII era, the 1950 Top Secret is more of a Cold War artifact.

Ilona Massey became a naturalized United States citizen in 1946. Her last marriage was to US Army General Donald Dawson. Ilona retired from public life in the late 1950's but remained an important part of the Washington DC social scene until her death in 1974. Because of her husband's rank, Ilona Massey is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

These classic recordings are available in the following formats:

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  • MP3 CDs are delivered by mail. These archival quality MP3 CDs are playable in your computer and many MP3 player devices.



    18 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00. Total playtime 9 hours, 26 min
    18 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00
    total playtime 9 hours, 26 min
    Add MP3 CD Collection to Cart

    1. 18 shows - total playtime 9 hours 26 minutes
    2. Good News 371223 008 Rosalie.mp3
    3. Railroad Hour 491010 054 New Moon.mp3
    4. Screen Guild 450625 251 New Wine.mp3
    5. TopSecret 500611 0001 Night Train To Berlin.mp3
    6. TopSecret 500618 0002 The Admiral's Strange Identity.mp3
    7. TopSecret 500625 0003 A Package In Tangiers.mp3
    8. TopSecret 500702 0004 Escape.mp3
    9. TopSecret 500723 0007 Midnight For Danger.mp3
    10. TopSecret 500730 0008 The Unknown Mission.mp3
    11. TopSecret 500806 0009 Disaster In London.mp3
    12. TopSecret 500813 0010 The Case Of The Tatooed Pigeon.mp3
    13. TopSecret 500820 0011 The Church Without A Cross.mp3
    14. TopSecret 500901 0012 The Drug Of Death.mp3
    15. TopSecret 500918 0014 Confession.mp3
    16. TopSecret 500925 0015 The Poison Hand Of Friendship.mp3
    17. TopSecret 501012 0017 The Document.mp3
    18. TopSecret 501019 0018 The Dream That Meant Death.mp3
    19. TopSecret 501026 0019 The Plan For Sabotage.mp3
  • MP3 downloads are available instantly after purchase!



    18 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00. Total playtime 9 hours, 26 min
    18 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00
    total playtime 9 hours, 26 min
    Add Instant Download Collection to Cart

    1. 18 shows - total playtime 9 hours 26 minutes
    2. Good News 371223 008 Rosalie.mp3
    3. Railroad Hour 491010 054 New Moon.mp3
    4. Screen Guild 450625 251 New Wine.mp3
    5. TopSecret 500611 0001 Night Train To Berlin.mp3
    6. TopSecret 500618 0002 The Admiral's Strange Identity.mp3
    7. TopSecret 500625 0003 A Package In Tangiers.mp3
    8. TopSecret 500702 0004 Escape.mp3
    9. TopSecret 500723 0007 Midnight For Danger.mp3
    10. TopSecret 500730 0008 The Unknown Mission.mp3
    11. TopSecret 500806 0009 Disaster In London.mp3
    12. TopSecret 500813 0010 The Case Of The Tatooed Pigeon.mp3
    13. TopSecret 500820 0011 The Church Without A Cross.mp3
    14. TopSecret 500901 0012 The Drug Of Death.mp3
    15. TopSecret 500918 0014 Confession.mp3
    16. TopSecret 500925 0015 The Poison Hand Of Friendship.mp3
    17. TopSecret 501012 0017 The Document.mp3
    18. TopSecret 501019 0018 The Dream That Meant Death.mp3
    19. TopSecret 501026 0019 The Plan For Sabotage.mp3
  • Standard Audio CDs are delivered by mail on archival quality media with up to 60 minutes on each CD and play in all CD players



    18 recordings on 10 Audio CDs. Total playtime 9 hours, 26 min
    18 recordings on 10 Audio CDs
    total playtime 9 hours, 26 min

    Ilona Massey Disc A001

    1. Good News 371223 008 Rosalie

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Ilona Massey Disc A002

    1. Screen Guild 450625 251 New Wine
    2. Railroad Hour 491010 054 New Moon

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Ilona Massey Disc A003

    1. TopSecret 500611 0001 Night Train To Berlin
    2. TopSecret 500618 0002 The Admiral's Strange Identity

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Ilona Massey Disc A004

    1. TopSecret 500625 0003 A Package In Tangiers
    2. TopSecret 500702 0004 Escape

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Ilona Massey Disc A005

    1. TopSecret 500723 0007 Midnight For Danger
    2. TopSecret 500730 0008 The Unknown Mission

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Ilona Massey Disc A006

    1. TopSecret 500806 0009 Disaster In London
    2. TopSecret 500813 0010 The Case Of The Tatooed Pigeon

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Ilona Massey Disc A007

    1. TopSecret 500820 0011 The Church Without A Cross
    2. TopSecret 500901 0012 The Drug Of Death

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Ilona Massey Disc A008

    1. TopSecret 500918 0014 Confession
    2. TopSecret 500925 0015 The Poison Hand Of Friendship

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Ilona Massey Disc A009

    1. TopSecret 501012 0017 The Document
    2. TopSecret 501019 0018 The Dream That Meant Death

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Ilona Massey Disc A010

    1. TopSecret 501026 0019 The Plan For Sabotage

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00

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